Believing you might have seen a ghost is one thing, capturing it on CCTV is quite another - especially when you think it might be the ghost of Henry VIII or maybe one of his ill-treated wives! That's exactly what Happened though at Henry VIII's famous palace at Hampton Court when security guards got the fright of their lives in 2007. The 16th century palace is well known for alleged hauntings, and in December 2003, rumours began to swirl that security had caught something on CCTV. In that month, the Daily Star reported that something very strange had been seen on the South West London palace's surveillance.

It all started when security guards began to notice fire doors they thought were shut, being left open. They went out to secure the doors each time before returning to their office to view the CCTV - to see who - or should we say what - had opened them. On the second occasion the doors were flung open, the guards noticed a spine-chillingly spooky image of someone apparently in period dress lurking in the doorway. Even weirder was that a around the same time, a visitor had noted in the visitors' book that she thought she had seen a ghost in the palace. One of the palace's security guards apparently said of the apparition: "It was incredibly spooky because the face just didn't look human."

Over the years numerous sightings of ghosts and spirits have been alleged at Hampton Court. It's perhaps not surprising given that it was the home of Henry VIII who we all know had two of his own wives beheaded. Jane Seymour, Henry's third wife who died in child birth is said to haunt the palace. She is said to have been seen walking calmly downstairs from the Queen's apartments, wearing a white dress and carrying a candle. Catherine Howard's ghost - the fifth wife, whom Henry had beheaded - is also said to re-enact a chilling scene where she runs top the chapel screaming to plead with Henry while he was hearing mass.

The ghosts of Jane Seymour and Catharine Howard are also said to haunt the palace But there are plenty of sceptics. A resident who lived in the palace for 35 years, Mr Ernst Law, said Catharine Howard's screaming was simply the wailing of cats. But Law did tell the story of a woman who lived at the palace in the 1860s who used to get woken by rapping sounds on her bedroom walls. The matter was never investigated, but a short time later, workmen digging just outside the lady's rooms found two skeletons buried in the ground that were assumed to be of dead soldiers. There are many other ghost stories surrounding the palace, perhaps as you might expect. One tells the tale of a policeman who was standing on duty outside the building when he saw a group of figures approaching along Ditton Walk. As they got closer he noticed they made no sound apart from the rustling of the ladies' dresses. The PC prepared to open the palace gates for them, but as he did so, they changed direction and headed towards another gate, as they did so, they formed into a procession going two by two, then suddenly just melted into thin air

Is this spooky apparition the Grey Lady of Hampton Court? Schoolgirls claim to have captured ghost of servant who died of small pox after nursing Elizabeth I at the palace 

• Dame Sybil Penn died of small pox in Hampton Court Palace in 1562

• Her ghost was seen by the Victorians when her tomb was moved in 1829

• The palace is also haunted by Catherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife

• She was dragged to her death through the palace accused of adultery

• Two schoolgirls noticed the strange apparition on a visit to the palace

For nearly 200 years she is rumoured to have haunted the corridors of Hampton Court.

But now the ghost of the famous Grey Lady may finally have been captured on camera - by a schoolgirl and her iPhone.

Holly Hampsheir, 12, thought she was taking a fairly routine photo of her cousin Brook McGee, also 12, during a day out at the 16th century stately home.

But she appears unwittingly to have captured the spectral figure of Dame Sybil Penn who looms over the schoolgirl as her back is turned.

With flowing dark hair and a full length black gown the woman seems real enough in the picture.

But seconds later Brook turns around and the next image in the series shows no sign of the visitor at all.

he girls didn’t realise what they had encountered at the time and only made the terrifying discovery when looking through their photos of the outing a day later.

Miss McGee, from Hornchurch, Havering, told the Sun: ‘I was totally freaked out.

‘I didn’t see anything.

‘People say the room goes cold when ghosts appear but we had no idea.

‘We haven’t slept properly since.’

Dame Sybil died from after contracting smallpox in 1562.

A servant at Hampton Court to four Tudor monarchs she was the nurse of Prince Edward and also nursed Elizabeth I through the disease before succumbing to it herself.

Sightings of her ghost began to be reported in 1829 when the church at the palace was rebuilt and her tomb moved.

Soon after strange noises of a person working a spinning wheel were apparently heard through a wall at Hampton Court.

They led to the discovery of a previously unknown chamber containing an antique spinning wheel.

Hampton Court, home to Henry the VIII has a long been famed for its ghosts.

Amongst them the most famous is Henry’s fifth wife Catherine Howard who was dragged screaming through the palace after being accused of adultery.

It is said that after being beheaded, her spirit returned to haunt the home she had shared with her husband. 

Hampton Court Palace, home to British monarchs for more than 500 years, is said to house the ghost of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, who was executed on her husband's order in 1541.